Energy conservation strategies have grown in complexity in recent years. Consumers and legislators have initiated improvements in energy efficiency. Internet protocols for managing devices were developed when there were relatively few devices connected to the network. Currently, millions of devices are connected to the Internet via energy links (e.g., Ethernet links), and the proliferation of these devices is expected to grow in orders of magnitude. Power states have evolved to the point where they are commonly implemented within most devices (e.g., a low-power sleep state supported by personal computing systems). Energy efficient features have been developed in order to reduce unnecessary energy consumption. Additionally, many power consumption features may ultimately be required of network components, switches, personal end-user devices, and other electronic components. As a general proposition, consuming minimal power, without sacrificing performance, presents a significant challenge to equipment vendors, network operators, and system designers alike.